Spaceman Jones is an artist I’ve covered a few times in the past, although it was always when he was performing in a duo with MOTHER HOOD as Spaceman Jones & the Motherships. He’s a very prominent staple in the Asheville Hip Hop scene from what I understand; I’ve brought him up in conversations with people from that area who aren’t even super tapped in to underground Hip Hop, and they were like, “I know who that is.” I’ve never been to Asheville, so I sadly haven’t been able to see him perform live, but I definitely gotta make that happen at some point. I think he also owns a food truck that looks really good too. Anyway, I think this latest release was my first time hearing him rap over someone other than MOTHER HOOD’s production if I’m not mistaken. The project is fully self-produced, as is the upcoming Quarters EP that’s releasing in a couple weeks. There are three tracks on this one including the intro. I had a feeling I would enjoy them a lot because I’m already a fan, but I wasn’t completely sure to what extent I would dig this project since this is my entry to his production.

The project begins with an Intro in which a little girl seems to be hosting a radio show called Two Cents in which she gives other children financial advice. I actually have no idea what the intended effect on listeners is supposed to be, but personally I found it kinda funny. It’s surprising and I guess impressive in a way that it sounds so real. Like, this genuinely sounds like the advice a child would give to another child. It’s silly as hell. Basically, a child wrote in to say “I want an MP3 player but I spent all my allowance… 😔 What should I do?” and the advice the host gave was pretty much just “save up some money.” This track definitely works as a good introduction to the money theme. I feel like I’m giving this way more thought than was intended, or at least than was expected. I don’t know. I have a decent amount to say about it despite not really disliking or liking it. I mean, I definitely enjoyed it in a way. I’m probably not gonna keep it in my library because I don’t think it’s absolutely essential to maximize enjoyment of this release, but I’m not gonna pretend to have an issue with it being here.

The first actual song that features Spaceman Jones rapping is called Plays. I love it. The instrumental he put together here has a pretty interesting vibe in my opinion that I’m trying to figure out how to describe. Basically, the main portion of the beat here is super smooth and kinda chill, but the percussion is super hard hitting—particularly the sharp bass. When the hook first came in, something felt slightly off about it to me. I can’t tell if it’s because of this part of the instrumental, or if it has something to do with the way the vocals are performed or recorded. It’s not really bad at all; I just had to get used to it for some reason. The song really captures me when the actual verse begins though. His flow is really nice, and the beat kinda develops further. I think the second verse is where he really kills it. I feel like his flow and rhyme schemes are more… robust.

The phone been blanking since this morning, I been filling orders
Workin' on my quota as I smoke another quarter
We been back and forth across borders, the streets'll try to short ya
But I will push the button and abort ya
I hustle every day and every way 'cause I'm a player
They sit around and gossip all day hatin', get some paper
I been movin' solo, focused strictly on the caper
I'm a leaf rollin' ex-dealer in a scraper
My favorite characters are Satan, Dracula, and Vader
I got a dark nature, don't try it, I'll vape ya

I think my least favorite aspect of this song is the hook, but it’s not particularly bad. It just doesn’t really stand out in a good way to me much. Like I said, the actual verses that are performed on this track along with the dope production is what makes this song so enjoyable for me. I think it’s very dope.

My favorite out of the three tracks on this EP is called Slick Motion. This one’s awesome. I actually think the instrumental here is amazing. It reminds me of something Killer Kane would produce, and I know I’ve made that comparison between Kane and Spaceman Jones & the Motherships before in the past. I’m realizing as I’m writing this that a SeKwence & Spaceman Jones collaboration produced by Killer Kane would be a dream collab. I might have to put that together myself… Anyway, I actually like the hook on this one quite a bit. It just sounds more natural than it did on the preceding track. This is the type of hook that would be fun to learn the lyrics of and rap along with. I also think it would be great during live performances. Much like with the preceding track, the first verse is good, but the second verse is the best part of the song.

Daily practice keep the basics in rotation
Fundamental movement done become my second nature
Natural vapors, fly flavors, breaking the matrix
Programming something better to replace it
Facing blunts gimme the patience to face it
Stepping on fake shit, demonstrating greatness
Dumping holy water on the demons out the spaceship
What up, Cliff? They ain't know we had a full clip
Y'all ain't heard shit but a small blip
Broadcasting live, would you kill to stay alive?

The “Cliff” person he shouts out in that excerpt is MOTHER HOOD. The matrix replacement couplet was really cool. The holy water line had some very cool imagery that I was able to visualize. The “small blip” line is most likely a diss to lesser artists, but I also think it could be a reference to how this project is only a few songs, and there’s an upcoming EP called Quarters which is a little longer and more substantial. That one drops in a couple weeks, so be on the lookout. Anyway, overall this song is excellent to me. I would definitely say it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve heard from Spaceman Jones. I think it’s fantastic.

---

^{This one is really great., Spaceman Jones has gotta be one of the most consistent artists out of North Carolina right now. Pretty much every project I’ve heard from him has been great. I think it’s been a minute since he dropped a full length album, but he’s still been feeding his audience with very high quality EPs. I wasn’t sure how this would compare to the stuff with MOTHER HOOD, but to be honest I don’t really even think the production here was weak in comparison to their collabs. Spaceman Jones is a really talented producer, and he’s a very great rapper. I will admit that the way the project ends feels a bit abrupt in comparison with the way it started, but that didn’t realistically have much of an impact on my enjoyment of the material here. Maybe an outro skit similar to the intro could’ve wrapped things up a little more explicitly, but that’s a super nitpick. The nittiest of picks. Overall, I think this is a super dope project, and it made me excited to check out the Quarters EP when I first heard it. Check this EP out and let me know what you think in the comments. I can recommend more stuff from him if you enjoyed this one. ✌🏽}

Favorite Song: Slick Motion
Least Favorite Song: Plays